Aiming to take “relationship banking” to a new level, Sovereign Bank has redesigned its consumer products and launched an array of new checking and savings accounts, loans, investments, insurance, and trust and wealth management services.
Dubbed “Milestone Banking,” the new products and special packages are Sovereign’s response to research findings about customer buying habits and lifestyles as well as market trends, according to Keh Kwek, director of retail strategic marketing.
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“Our customers are becoming more educated, demanding, diverse and tech-savvy and these characteristics leave them wanting and expecting more from their bank,” Kwek said in a news release.
At the heart of Milestone Banking is a new focus on rewarding customers who take advantage of more than one Sovereign product. The bank will still market six checking account options individually, as Essential Choices, but as of Sept. 7, consumers are being encouraged to consider several “Premier Options” instead.
The Premier Options are five “value” packages including integrated checking and savings account combinations, loans, investments, insurance and trust and wealth management services. Premier customers get discounts and preferred rates, a free disability rider with Universal Life, free checks, free online banking and bill payment, free check imaging, and a free Sovereign Visa debit card.
The packages also include free membership in “Premier Rewards,” which provides coupons for discounts of up to 50 percent at national retailers and merchants.
Three of the “Premier Options” packages – Legacy Option, Elite Option and Prestige Option – target wealthier customers and require a Money Market or other savings account as well as a minimum balance. Two others don’t require a minimum: the Generation Premier Option, for older customers, and the Totally FREE Premier Option, which requires only direct deposit.
“With Milestone Banking we’re creating customers for life – with products and services at every stage of the life cycle,” Kwek said. “And our theme conveys that idea precisely and succinctly.”
To promote all five packages, Sovereign has launched a Milestone Banking Sweepstakes for customers, with prizes such as $100,000 in cash, a 2005 Ford Explorer, $20,000 in cash, a $20,000 savings bond and an expense-paid trip for two to London. The sweepstakes runs through May 31, 2005.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Sovereign is a $55-billion institution with nearly 600 branches throughout the Northeast. It is the third-largest bank in Rhode Island, with 10.8 percent of deposits as of June 30, 2003.
